Gas-engine



(No Model.) s Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. V. WALLS.

GAS ENGINE.

No. 498,700. Patented May 30, 1893.

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(-No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. V. WALLS. GAS ENGINE.

No. 498,700. Patented May 30, 1893.

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0. v. WALLS. GAS ENGINE.

No. 498,700. Patented May 30,1893.

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CIOERO V. WALLS, OF ARCOLA, ILLINOIS.

GAS-ENGINE.

SPEClIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,700, dated May 30,1893.

I Application filed March 8,1892. Serial No. 424,202. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OICERO V. WALLS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Arcola,in the county of Douglas and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Gas- Engine, of which the following is aspecification. 7

This invention relates to gas engines; and ithas for its object toprovide an improvement in engines of this class which will not onlysimplify and render less expensive the construction of such engines, butat the same time will also provide means whereby the Valve regulatingdevices shall be more accurately controlled and also to automaticallyregulate the speed of the engine under various loads through the valveoperating mechanism.

To this end it is my aim to generally improve upon the valve operatingand governing devices of such engines.

With these and many other objects in view which will readily appear tothose skilled in the art as the nature of the invention is betterunderstood, the same consists in the important improvements hereinaftermore fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a perspective view of a gasengine having the improvements as contemplated by my invention. Fig. 2is a vertical sectional view through the valve chambers. Fig. 3 is avertical longitudinal sectional view through the supply or exhaust valvechamber. Fig. 4 is a similar View through the ignitor valve chamber.Fig. 5 is a detail plan view looking into the compression and explosionchamber. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the valve stemcontrolling levers. Fig. 7 is a detail in perspective of the operatingeccentrics. Fig. 8 is a detail plan view of the governing-lever andoperating rod.

Referring to the accompanying drawings: A represents an ordinarysupporting bed or frame, supporting at one end thereof the cylinder B,within which travels the piston 0 working through the entire length ofsaid cylinder and driving the piston rod D is connected directly to thedrive crank shaft E, from which motion is communicated to the machineryto be operated, and which carries at one end thereof the small sprocketor other suitable gear F, the function of which will be presently noted.

At one end and forming the head of the cylinder 13 is the combinedcompression and explosion chamber G into which the gas and air is led,compressed and exploded to actuate the piston in the ordinary manner.

Forming an integral part of the combined compression and explosionchamber G, are the opposite supply and exhaust valve chambers G and Grespectively, while intermediate of the opposite valve chambers G and Gris the ignitor valve chamber G but it will be readily observed that thelocation of the several valve chambers maybe changed at the option ofthe manufacturer. Each of the supply and exhaust valve chambers G and Gare provided with the openings g, opening into the compression andexplosion chamber, to supply the same with air and gas and to exhaust atthe proper moment after-explosion. The said supply and exhaust valvechambers G and G are provided at a point directly below the openings,therefrom into the compression and explosion chamber, with the beveledvalve seats g, over and upon which work the conical valves H. The saidvalves H are carried by the valve stems h, which workthrough thestuffing boxes h, in the lower ends of said valve chambers, and projecta sufficient distance below the same so that they can be readilycontrolled in the manner to be presently described. The valve stems h,also project above the top of the valves H carried thereby, and workinto the bearing caps 71 closing the top ends of the, valve chambers.The said caps k are provided with the guiding bores h into which fit thesaid upper ends of the valve stems, and which serve to guide and steadythe valves in their movement. The said caps or'plugs' are alsoexteriorly threaded, as illustrated, so as to be removably secured inthe upper interiorly threaded ends of the valve chambers, and by suchconstruction'it will be readily seen that the said cap plugs notonlyserve as guides for the valves, but also provide means whereby thesaid valve chambers can he cats [00 ily opened for gaining accessthereto for cleaning and removal of the valves.

To the supply valve chamber G, is 0011- nected a supply pipe G", whichalso supports the carbureter from which the gas and air is drawn intothe compression and explosion chambers, and the construction of whichwill be hereinafter set forth, while to the adjacent exhaust valvechamber G2 is connected an exhaust pipe G' which may be led outside ofthe building within which the engine is located or to any other suitablepoint of exhaust.

The ignitor valve chamber G is provided at a point below the openingwith an opening g communicating with thecompression and explosionchamber so that the gases therein can be exploded at the proper time.The said valve chamber G is further provided directly above the openingg with the beveled valve seat 9 over which works the conical valve Hcarried by the valve stem 7t, similar to the other valve stemspreviously described, but is further provided below the valve H with apolygonal flattened guide portion I, which works in the cylindricalguide bore "0', located directly below the valve seat and serving tosteady and guide the ignitor valve H in its movement. The ignitor valvestem also projects through the stuffing box it, in the lower end of thechamber G the same distance below the several valve chambers so that itcan be accurately controlled at the proper time by the mechanism to bedescribed.

In the upper end of theignitor valve chamber is removably secured thescrew plug I, provided with an opening 1) therethrough, and into theupper end of which is fitted the closed igniting tube 1?, which may beheated in any suitable manner by the burner i but it will of course beunderstood that an ordinary electric spark may be employed for ignitingthe compressed gases.

To each of the valve stems below the various valve chambers is securedthe collars J, adjustably'secured to said stems by means of the setscrewsj passing therethrough and impinging against said stems, whereby,by adjusting'said collars in this manner, the tension of the springs jcan be regulated to suit the needs of the engine. The said springs areplaced between the said collars and the stuffing boxes of the valvechambers around the valve stems and are of sufficient strength to firmlyhold the valves to their seats so that the same can only be raised bythe valve actuating mechanism and remain unaffected by gaseous pressureexerted thereupon.

Secured to or integral with the cylinder head is the depending bracket Khaving the oppositedepending bearing arms standing off from the cylinderhead and provided at their lower ends with theboxes 7c, forming bearingsfor the horizontal valve controlling shaft L. The valve controllingshaft L carries upon one end thereof the sprocket or other suitable gearZ, by means of which the same may be connected by a link or othersuitable connecting devices with the crank shaft of the engine. It willof course be observed that the valve operating shaft Lmay be driven fromthe crank shaft by any suitable connections, whereby the valvecontrolling shaft will make one revolution to every two revolutions ofthe crank shaft E.

Adj ustably secured upon the valve controlling shaft L, between theboxes 70, and in a line directly under the valve stems are the operatingcams or eccentrics M. The said eccentrics or cams are adjusted upon theshaft by means of the set screws m and are so disposed with relation toeach other that the valves are controlled in succession one after theother at the proper time, first, the supply valve, then the ignitorvalve and finally the exhaust valve,this operation of course beingcontinuous and successive when the governing devices do not interruptthisorder of succession. It will be well to observe that the strikingportions of the operating cams or eccentrics directly under the supplyand exhaust valve stems have a contact portion or' face m, of sufficientlength so that the inlet and exhaust valves will be held open at theproper moment during the full out or in stroke of the piston,respectively, as will be more specially noted, while on the other hand,the eccentric or cam controlling the ignitor valve is provided with anangular contact point m which provides means for rapidly opening andclosing the ignitor valve.

Arranged in a line directly over the several operating eccentrics orcams are the controlling levers N. The several controlling or'liftinglevers N are suitably pivoted at n to the body'of the depending bracketK; The said lifting levers N are bifurcated at theirouter ends, andcarry the contact rollers M, which are engaged by the contact faces andpoints only, of the several operating cams or eccentrics, while theinner ends of the said lifting levers are provided with the downwardlyprojecting stops n which project below the point of pivot and aredesigned to strike or abutagainst the body of said bracket, and therebyserve to hold said levers in an approximately horizontal position out ofcontact with the operating eccentrics or cams to prevent wear exceptwhen the said eccentrics or cams have reached such a position that theextended contact portions thereof reach the contact rollers and therebylift the outer ends of the levers. The said lifting levers are furtherprovided at their outer ends with the raised hardened striking bosses97. which are designed to bear under and against the extreme lower endsof the valve stems to raise the same at the proper time, it being ofcourse observed that the said bosses serve to prevent undue wear uponthe parts at this point. Now it will be observed that when the valvecontrolling shaft has rotated sufficiently, the eccentric or camdirectly underthe supply valve stem, will come in contact with the outerend of the lifting lever directly thereover and thereby open the supplyvalve G, which on account of the contact face or portion of said cam oreccentric, will be held open during the entire outstroke of the piston.This outstroke ofthe piston draws the air and gaseous vapors through thesupply pipe beforementioned into the cylinder. After the piston has madethe full outstroke and upon or at the very instant it starts back, thesupply valve closes, and the air and other vapors are compressed to aconsiderable degree of pressure into the compression and explosionchamber G, by the piston which travels directly up to the head thereof.At this point the angular contact point of the ignitorvalve-controllingeccentric or cam raises the lifting lever directly thereover and sharplyand quickly opens and closes the ignitor,

valve. The short period of time that the ignitor valve is open issufficient to allow the spark or the heated tube to explode the gas andimpel the piston forcibly back in its outstroke. When the piston hasreached the limit of its outstroke and commences to return, the exhaustvalve operating eccentric or cam has come into play and opened theexhaust valve, through which, and the exhaust pipe, the products ofcombustion resulting from the explosion are forced by the incoming orreturning piston. It will be observed that this cycle of operation iscompleted once in every two revolutions of the crank shaft and one ofthe valve controlling shaft, except when interrupted by the governingdevices,which I shall now proceed to describe. It may be remarked atthis point, although well understood'in the art, that the severaloperating cams or eccentrics open the valves just before the piston hasreached the limit of its in or out stroke, as the case may be,-in orderto give the same the requisite lead.

Pivotally secured to the top of the inlet or supply valve lifting leverN is the governing lever O. Said governing lever O is pivoted near theinner end of the lifting lever and is provided with a beveled contactend 0, which is designed to work beneath the lower beveled end 0 of thesupply valve stem h, and is designed to be regulated as described. Thesaid governing lever O is further provided with the upwardly extendingprojection 0 and the rearwardly projecting pin 0 which receives one endof the spring P, the other end of which is suitably connected with theoperating rod Q, at such a point of attachment thereon, so that thecontact end of the governing lever will be normally drawnto and underthe supply valve stem so that when the lifting lever is raised, the saidcontact end will engage the lower beveled end of said valve stem andraise the same. The said rod Q pierces the body of the bracket at asuitable point above the several lifting levers and is provided with anoperating pin g, which is designed to engage one side of the extendedprojection o of said governing lever and force the same from under thesupply valve stem or sufficiently from under the same so that when thelifting lever is raised the beveled end'of the valve stem will clear thesaid contact end 0 and will not be operated by the lifting lever so asto allow a fresh charge to be introduced into the engine. This is ofcourse controlled by the speed of the engine as will nular grooves B oneof which is engaged by the bifurcated arm of said rod, as alreadydescribed, while the other and outer groove thereof receives the innerflanged ends of the sliding arms or plates S passing through thegovernor body T, and controlled as will be described The said sleeve 0is normally pressed toward the bracketby the spring r mounted over thevalve controlling shaft and interposed therebetween and the collars rsecured to said shaft at a point away from said sleeve, so that normallythe governing lever will be in such a position as to allow the supplyvalve to be regularly operated.

The governor body '1" is loosely mounted upon the valve controllingshaft between the collar r and r thereon and is itself provided with aprojecting collar or, sleeve 15, provided with the perforation, t, whichmay receive the securing pin t which serves to secure the said governorbody fixedly to the valve controlling shaft in order that the governormay be controlled by the speed of said shaft when the engine is ofsufficient power to cause saidshaft to revolve sufficiently rapid tooperate the governor, but on the other hand, in slow speed engines it isnecessary to operate the governor independently of the valve controlling shaft m, and in such case the pin t is removed so that the governorbody can be independently rotated by means of a belt 15 passing over thebelt groove 25 formed in the valve body and suitably connected with thecrank shaft. The governor body T carries the ordinary centrifugal ballgovernors U, which are suitably pivoted in said body and looselyconnected with the sliding platesS so that when the speed demands it,the said sliding plates S are drawn out and thereby cause the slidingsleeve r to draw the rod P sufficiently to move the governor lever outof the way of the supply valve stem so that it i will not be operateduntil the speed of the engine has again sufficiently decreased to al- Ilow the governors to retract.

The supply pipe G, connected with the supply valve chamber G, passesinto and sup-- ports the carbureting chamber Voff from the engine.

a point near the bottom of said carburetingchamber and just below an:intermediate stratum o,of porous absorbent material,suit- The saidsupply pipe G" extends to the lower end thereof the needle valve seatsa; and having connected therewith near the upper end the oil supply pipeat. A needle valve Y works over the needle valve seat a:, and accuratelyregulates the quantity of oil' that is to be fed into the carburetor.Now it will be observed that the suction from the outwardly movingpiston creates a sufficient vacuum or suction within the carburetor tocause the valve 10 to open under the air pressure in the pipe W. As thevalve 10 opens it allows the oil to fall from the valve casing X, ontothe end of the'valve which causes the oil to be sprayed at the samemoment the air rushes into the carburetor, and thereby rapidly vaporizesthe oil, which also passes through the porous and absorbent stratum,also serving to further vaporize the oil and commingle the airtherewith.

When it is found that the commingled gases are too rich, I employ asupplemental air pipe Z having a controlling valve 2, by means of whicha sufficient quantity of air may be admitted to the supply pipe G" torender the mixture explosive.

In order to prevent a sufficient quantity of oil to accumulate, so thatit would be sucked by the piston, through the supply pipe, I employ adrain cock Z, connected with the bottom of the carburetor so that thesurplus oil can be readily drawn off, and so that nothing but thecommingled gases can pass into the chamber.

It is now thought that the construction, operation and many advantagesof the herein described gas engine are apparent without furtherdescription, but it will be well to observe at this point that insteadof using the gasoline and vaporizing the same as described, I mayconnect the carburetor with an ordinary gas main by suitable piping, andin such event substituting said piping for the valve casing X, throughwhich the oil is led into the carburetor, thereby adapting thecarburetor for a double function, which is an important point in thisclass of machines when it is desired'to use either gasoline or gas.

Although I have particularly described specific constructions, yet Iwould have it understood, that I do not wish to confine myself to theexact details specified, but reserve the right to make such changes asare deemed necessary without departing from the spirit of my invention.

To complete the construction herein specified and in order to insure aneasy operation of the various parts, I employ a lubricating trough Zwhich is secured to the depending bracket and arranged below the valvecontrolling shaft, so that as the said shaft rotates, the cams oreccentrics thereon pass through the lubricant in said trough and arethereby continually lubricated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the supply valve stem having'a beveled lower end,the valve controlling shaft carrying an eccentric, a lifting leverlocated above and operated by said eccentric, a governinglever pivotedhorizontally upon said lifting lever and provided with a beveled contactend designed towork beneath the beveled end of said stem and arearwardly projecting pin, a spring connected with said pin andasuitablepoint of attachment to normally hold said lever under said valve stem,and means for drawing saidlever from beneath the stem, substantially asset forth.

2. The combination with the supply valve carrying stem, the valvecontrolling shaft carrying an eccentric and a lifting'lever-operated bysaid eccentrics; of a governing lever pivoted horizontallyupon saidlifting lever and provided with acontact end working beneath the lowerend of said valve stem, and an upwardly extending projection, a slidingoperating rod provided with an operating pin engaging one side of saidextended projection to throw the governing lever from under the valvestem, a spring connected to said governing lever and said rod, and agoverning device connected with said operating rod, substantially as setforth.

3. The combination with the supply valvecarrying stem, the valvecontrolling shaft carrying an eccentric and a liftingv lever operated bysaid eccentric; of a governing lever pivotally mounted upon said liftinglever and normally held under the lower end of said valve stem, asliding sleeve working over said shaft, a sliding operating rodconnected with said sliding sleeve and engaging one side of saidgoverning lever, and a centrifugal governor mounted upon said shaft andconnected withsaid sliding sleeve, substantially as set independently ofthe'valve controlling shaft,

substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the supply valve carrying ste1n,the valvecontrolling shaft and a lifting lever working directly under said valvestem and controlled by saidshaft; of a governing lever pivotedhorizontally upon said lifting lever directly under the lower end of thevalve stem, a spring-pressed sleeve sliding overoone end of said shaft,a sliding oper ating rod connected with said sliding sleeve:

and-said governing lever, a governor body mounted upon said shaftadjacent to said sleeve and provided with a belt groove and a perforatedsecuring collar, a pin removably Witnesses:

J. H; SIGGERS; H; G; PIERSON.

